On The Page

Making movies. Making film festivals. Tony Gapastione of Bravemaker Productions talks about the many things he's learned as he creates and curates short films and features.

Free-writing, fun writing and brain dumps! Writer/comedian Marc Warzecha talks about ways you can turn an ordinary subject into a hilarious sketch.

Writer/ Producer Mike Royce talks about the ways that life issues and personal stories in the writers' room inspire episodes of the shows he's worked on: One Day at a Time, Enlisted, Men of a Certain Age and Everybody Loves Raymond.

Landi Maduro, director and producer at Bluechild Entertainment, offers advice to new filmmakers about creating the emotion, tone and visual look of their on-screen projects.

Writer Delondra Mesa (Z-Nation, Step Up) has paid her dues, working from Zombie-movie writer to Executive Story Editor. Hear how she did it and why she is a better writer because of it!

Writer / producer Erica Rivinoja (South Park, Clone High, The Last Man on Earth) has great advice about turning simple kids stories into big movies, finding the funny in a scene and pitching with confidence in the writers room.

Shireen Razack and Angela Harvey, co-chairs of the Think Tank for Inclusion & Equity, talk about issues and problems in the industry facing underrepresented writers and the ways in which their report put hard numbers to the anecdotes.

Writer Tiffany Thomas talks about writing on the reboot of The Proud Family and how working as a sketch comedian helped her on the page and in the writers' room.

Writer Shannon Houston (Homecoming, Little Fires Everywhere, Station 11) is both a writer on and a fan of the HBO show Lovecraft Country which she describes as "complicated, strange and always unraveling."

Andrew Chapman, Executive Producer of The Resident, talks about the ways in which the show shines a light on the problems within the medical industry and stresses themes of accountability.

Richard Bosner talks about the ways working as a producer on independent movies like Fruitvale Station, Other People and Mapplethorpe have taught him as a writer and director.

Writer/actor Kemiyondo Coutinho (MTV's Undressed, Starz' Step Up:High Water), talks about the ways that creating content for herself led to her current career as a TV writer.

Writer/Producer Michael Jamin (Tacoma FD, Maron, King of the Hill) talks about relying on the truth when he needs to find the story and the funny for TV or memoir.

Screenwriter Alison Peck, writer of Ugly Dolls and You Can't Keep a Good Girl Down (in development) talks about her approach to writing story and dance in the new Netflix movie Work It.

Fugitives, murders, UFOs and lost loves! Christine Lenig, Senior Vice President of Cosgrove/Meurer Production, talks about the storytelling that goes into the Netflix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries.

TV showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois (Claws, Self Made, Criminal Minds, ER) talks about what she looks for in writers' participation and pages, how she breaks story in the writers' room and why a writing career is like getting to eat chocolate chip cookies all day.

Writer Aydrea Walden discusses her recent job as a development executive at DreamWorks TV and her new gig writing for a Disney Jr. show. She also gives some valuable tips about networking and insight into the writers' room.

Writing/Directing brothers Tony Dean Smith and Ryan W. Smith talk about their journey from making movies in their living room to independent filmmaking and the release of their feature film "Volition."

Ten writers from across the country and around the world get together on Zoom to ask questions about the craft of screenwriting. Special thanks to guests Christina Nicole, Danielle Pinnock, Deanna Brauer, Glenn Lawrence, Kennet Bennervall, Lateefah Holder, Mario Kersey, Marky Hinojosa, Mykal Kilgore, Seamus Heffernan and Tony Gapastione.

Actor/writers Danielle Pinnock and Kimberly Hebert-Gregory talk about their annoyance with one-dimensional characterizations of black women in movie and TV stories, their wish for duality and complexity in the roles they play and their hope that the current push for change doesn't turn out to be a "Jenny Craig moment."

Executive producer Liz Tigelaar dives deep into the character dynamics and issues explored in the Hulu limited series Little Fires Everywhere. Find out the difference between plot and story and learn why Liz is the "queen of the act-out."

Writer / Director Ben Mekler talks about his experiences writing for the Netflix animated series Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts.

From a "stereotype moratorium" to "divestment from discriminatory locales," writer and social justice leader Alan Jenkins describes the concrete actions that writers and others in the entertainment industry can take right now.

Episode 666 called for a discussion of one of the greatest movies of all times, The Omen, with one of the greatest screenwriters of all times, David Seltzer. Not only does he share his thoughts and feelings about writing horror, he also gives insight into the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!

Goal coach Debra Eckerling talks about the road trip approach to setting, planning and achieving goals laid out in her new book, Your Goal Guide.

Documentary filmmaker Senain Kheshgi talks about the way she uses narrative movie structure to shape her groundbreaking films.

Writer/Actor/Comedian Rich Fulcher returns to crack Pilar up with his take on voice acting, pitching and writing on Matt Groening's animated show Disenchantment.

Veteran writers Juliet Aires Giglio and Keith Giglio talk about following structure while freshening genre in their latest venture writing Christmas movies (Christmas Reservations, A Very Nutty Christmas) for Lifetime.

Pilar enlists the listeners to talk about the bingeable shows that are helping them get through the Coronavirus quarantine.

Chris Sparling, writer of BURIED, THE SEA OF TREES (nominated for the Palm d'Or at Cannes), MERCY and the soon to be released GREENLAND, is a veteran at working remotely and taking meetings online. In this episode he offers tips on virtual networking, maintaining focus and writing well.

Locked down with their mom, Pilar's kids Ezra Dodson and Rita Dodson discuss "teen" language, portrayals of teenagers on screen and their mutual love of inappropriate horror movies.

Personal finance consultant Lisa Gould leads a creative conversation about ways that writers can save, manage and spend their hard-earned money.

Brian Keith Etheridge has been a writer and co-EP for the half-hour comedy The Neighborhood, The Goldbergs, Mike and Molly, The Mick and The Ranch … just to name a few. Here he shares his wisdom about writing, pitching and the dynamics of the writers' room. His philosophy: "Anyone who pitches the solution is a hero."

Screenwriters Dave Merlino and Dustin Sweet share their four-year journey filming a documentary about war veterans.

Writer/director Wanuri Kahiu lives in Kenya, takes meetings in LA, and makes movies for the world. Here she gives her inspiring take on writing adaptations, directing actors and the need for "fun and frivolous" stories about African culture.

Pilar wants to let you know about online/video-conference classes at On the Page and to announce that in-person classes are suspended at the studio for spring due to COVID-19. Stay safe and have a good writing week! www.onthepage.tv

Pilar sits down with her step-father, Philippe Koenig, to discuss the first 40 years of his life as though it were a series of movies.

Writers Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg discuss their love of horror, their unique writing partnership and their experiences writing Spiral (the next movie in the Saw franchise) starring Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson.

Showrunner Jeffrey Lieber digs into story, craft and the writers room as he shares his experiences about moving from playwright to filmmaker to TV writer and pitching a show called LOST along the way.

Writer/Director Danish Renzu talks about the passion and persistence that went into making his latest movie, "The Illegal."

Pilar and her friends Brian Pope and Mike Musa get together for their annual discussion/argument about the best screenplay and best adapted screenplay Oscar nominees.

Ready, set, go! Determined to finally get your script "out of your head and onto the page?" Hear how Pilar helped one of her toughest cases: her husband Pat!

Author / illustrator Vincent X. Kirsch talks about the ways that picture books have helped him write better screenplays and the ways screenwriting has helped him make better picture books.

Writers aren't the only ones who have to work their way up. Producer Mandy June Turpin has paid her dues and now has a roster of projects to talk about - as well as advice about how to develop a movie from script to screen.

Siobhan Bachman is a TV executive who previously developed IP for Archie Studios (Riverdale), worked as a manager at 360, was ABC's UK Comedy and Drama Development Scout and may or may not have discovered a chap named John Oliver. Here, she shares her wisdom about character development, IP adaptation and the differences between British and American story development.

Manager Kate Brogden of The Cartel discusses what she looks for in a great animated project and a great animation client. A must-listen if you write animation or just love watching it.

Career coach Lee Jessup returns to discuss the writing trends popular in 2019 and shares what's ahead for the new year.

Pilar and Aadip evaluate log lines sent in by listeners. Who will get a consider, recommend or pass?

TV literary agent Davina Hefflin (The Gersh Agency) talks about her work with writers and the storytelling and character development that moves her on the page.

Writer Scotty Mullen returns to the podcast to talk about his upcoming holiday movie, the Christmas tropes he loves and what it's like to work with Donna Mills.